The Menorah and the Christmas Tree

 by Brian J. Hennessy

            Glancing out my office window one morning in early December of 1996, I noticed the City of Philadelphia had erected a huge menorah to commemorate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, as they did every year. It was standing in its traditional spot across the street from the Liberty Bell in the Judge Lewis Quadrangle. A Christmas tree that had been put up and decorated a few days before stood a few feet from the menorah and completed the "politically correct" scene before me.

            As I studied these symbols representing the holidays of our two major religions, I was struck by how very dissimilar they were. The white, metallic, eight-branched menorah, which had to be 30 feet tall, towered over the plump, green Christmas tree with its shiny red ribbons and gold balls. They looked almost comical standing next to each other. Like an inanimate Abbot and Costello. The only thing they seemed to have in common really was that they both had lights.

            Then suddenly it hit me that the menorah with its metal branches lifted skyward could be seen as a tree also. Which meant that these seemingly diverse symbols were actually very similar. I immediately felt the Holy Spirit was showing me something important. My mind raced through the Scriptures as I tried to fathom what spiritual message could be behind these "two trees.”

            I realized that one place in the Bible where we find two trees standing next to each other is in the Book of Genesis. In the midst of the Garden of Eden there was the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Death, otherwise known as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

            As I thought about those two trees in the Garden, I could see a clear parallel to the ones outside my window. First, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a "tree of mixture." It mixed good and evil in such a way that it masked the evil, making its fruit appear extremely appealing to the eye. So much so, that Adam and Eve were tempted to bite into it even though God had told them not to because it meant certain death. I realized this "tree of mixture" could easily correspond with the Christmas tree because it too represented mixture.  The evergreen tree had long been associated with pagan festivals. As an evergreen, it offered a false hope of "eternal life.” It even entrapped the people of Israel at one point, bringing down the wrath of God upon them (see 2 Kings 17:10). In later Roman times it became identified with the worship of Zeus/Jupiter, a feastday celebrated on December 25th during the winter solstice. When many of the practices of paganism were intermingled with Christianity after the third century, the green tree and the celebration of Jesus' birth got all mixed together. There certainly is no mention in the Bible of a Christmas tree in the story of the birth of Jesus - an event that most likely occurred around the Feast of Succoth in mid-October.

            Likewise, the Tree of Life could easily correspond with the "menorah tree." The menorah, which is the central religious symbol of Judaism today, was one of the holy pieces of furniture God instructed Moses to make for the temple. As a lamp for the Holy Place, it carried the olive oil in its central stem that fed the three branches on either side, providing light to the wick at the top of each branch. In the Scriptures, oil is one of the symbols for the Holy Spirit. And since the Spirit is the One who brings the everlasting life and light of Messiah to every situation, we can say the menorah lamp is certainly a fitting representative for the Tree of Life.

            But what did all this mean? Why was the Holy Spirit pointing all this out to me? As I thought more about the two "trees" over the next few weeks, I realized they represented a choice that all men and women in every generation must continually make. It is kind of a test; a loyalty test that identifies us with one tree or the other. The choice was first given to Adam and Eve - and, as we know, they chose badly. The choice was then given to Cain and Abel. Abel passed with flying colors when he presented a sacrifice to God's liking, but Cain flunked. The test was also given to a man named Abram, who correctly chose to separate from the worship system of his pagan homeland and leave, without even knowing where he was going. As a reward, he became the “father of us all.”  Elijah presented the choice as a final exam to the whole nation of Israel at Mount Carmel, challenging them to choose between God and Baal. He asked, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If God be God, worship Him."

            I began to see that the Bible was actually a record of the men and women who had taken this test, with the results published for our inspiration or warning. (A partial honor role is listed in Hebrews, Chapter 11.) It was that test, I realized, that stood symbolically before me on the Judge Louis Quadrangle in the form of the menorah and Christmas tree. It is a test that will "judge" whether we are worthy of eternal life or not, for it causes us to choose between life and death. But let me be totally clear about this. The test was not - and is not - a choice between Christianity and Judaism. It is much, much bigger than that. It was, and is, between choosing the pure religion of God and the corrupt (and corrupting) religion of this world.

All Creation Proclaims the Glory of God

             Scripture declares that the universe itself loudly proclaims the existence of God. For, "ever since the creation of the world, His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made" (Rom. 1:20). And "the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands." (Psalm 19:1)

 The vast majority of mankind agrees, recognizing that all this symmetry and genius we find displayed before us day and night couldn't have just occurred accidentally. Some kind of divine creative intelligence had to be behind it all. And that divine creative intelligence we call "God." But there's a big difference between just knowing He's there and actually knowing Him. And especially knowing how he wants us to worship and serve Him. This more intimate knowledge of God and His way of doing things is not something that a man can ever discover through his powers of observation or deduction. It must be personally revealed to him by God Himself. As Scripture says, "For since in the wisdom of God, man through his wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe" (1 Cor. 1:21). The ball is in God’s court, so to speak, to communicate His "way" to us.

            Now if He never communicates His “way” to us, how can He ever hold anyone accountable for doing it wrong? But since He is God we can be sure He will find a way to get our attention and tell us the truth. Take Able, for example. He obviously knew what sacrifice was pleasing to God. Which is why Cain had no excuse. And the same is true today. God has long communicated His way through the Bible, culminating in the arrival of Jesus who declared, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6).

However, when you look around today and see the myriad of religions in the world - including many deviant forms of Christianity - you realize that most people are still worshipping in the way of Cain. We're still doing whatever is fitting in our own sight, regardless of what God wants or considers acceptable.

The Deceiver

             Now the reason most people continue to blindly offer unacceptable worship without questioning it, is because they really believe that is what God wants. They've been deceived into believing that by another personality in the world known as Satan - or the Devil. This uncharming fellow learned long ago that the physical evidence for God's existence is just too overwhelming to try and refute (although he has managed to pick off quite a few since the 18th century with his Theory of Evolution). So rather than waste time trying to deny the existence of God, he's learned it's much easier to simply pervert the worship due to God. He does that by cleverly bending the truth just enough so it corrupts a believer’s worship and service making it no longer holy and acceptable to God. Which automatically directs it to Satan himself. "I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice unto demons, and not to God..." (1 Cor. 10:20). His clever little twist is called religion. Religion is a devious system of worship built around the false idea that any and all religious activity in itself is pleasing to God.  The general belief is, whatever we do for God, if we're doing it sincerely enough, and it's a sacrifice of some sort (i.e. it costs us something), than it's acceptable to God. This form of "worship" appeals to most people because it doesn't require any real obedience to God's commands. It allows us to remain in our own self-centered lifestyle and feel good about ourselves, thinking our pious religious efforts are winning us points for us in heaven. Just the opposite is true, however.

            Now for those who don’t know any better, their ignorance is taken into account at the time of judgment. But those who know what God requires, and either through laziness or disobedience, indulge in corrupt worship anyway, the consequences are far greater.

The Golden Calf

             Consider for a moment, the most infamous example of perverted worship found in the Bible - the episode of the "golden calf" at Mount Sinai. If you recall, Moses had gone up on the mountain to get the Ten Commandments in written form, which had only been given verbally at that point. Six weeks had passed however and nobody had seen a sign of him. Fearing that Moses wouldn't be coming back, the people began to panic.

            The stage was now set for Satan to step forward and promote “choice.”

            Even though the people had already been told by God not to worship false idols as His first commandment, they ignored His command "and in their hearts, turned back towards Egypt." They quickly reverted to the comfort and familiarity of the Egyptian religion they'd been raised on. First they appointed Aaron, Moses' brother, as their priest. Then they fashioned a god of gold who is proclaimed to be the very one who brought them up out of Egypt. They then constructed an altar, declared a feast day, brought a sacrifice, and basically held a religious service with the congregation standing up and sitting down. (See Ex 32:6) And incredibly, all this is done “unto the Lord."

            Now, if it is true that it matters not one whit how we worship God as some believe, but only that we do worship Him - then God wouldn't give a fig about all this calf business would He? But what happened? God pours out His wrath upon these idol worshippers and slays thousands of them.           

            The Christmas tree, as I realized some time ago, is another one of those "golden calves" of a fallen Christianity. It represents a corruption of the way God wants us to honor and worship Him through Jesus Christ. It is actually an "Egyptian" practice we reverted to after Jesus went up into the clouds - as Moses did -  and didn't come back right away. Instead of worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth, which was how He instructed us, we turned to offering up the works of our own hands as a sacrifice and walked according to the untruths of this world. And so, every year we put up a tree in our homes to celebrate a holiday (i.e. “holy day”) in remembrance of the birth of Jesus. We celebrate a feast day He never asked us to keep or to declare holy. And one He certainly would not have asked us to celebrate with one of the oldest symbols of paganism.

             In many respects, the Christmas tree has become the central focus of worship during the Christmas season, even though it is being done “unto the Lord.”  Gifts are placed under the tree, just as gifts were brought to the Christ child. And gifts are received from under the tree, as if the tree itself was providing them. It is an idol in the fullest sense of the word. (And if you think I'm exaggerating, just mention to your neighbor that you’re thinking about skipping the tree this Christmas. He'll look at you like you’re a heretic.) We have many other such traditional “Christian” practices as this also that are not in accord with the Word of God. By including them as part of our religion we choose to bite into the poisonous fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

            And what of the menorah? This "tree" stands forever as a pure, God-given symbol of eternal life - and light - for all the true worshippers of God. (When it also becomes an object of worship, than it is no better than the Christmas tree.) Since it is olive oil that flows through the traditional menorah to bring forth the light, this “tree” can be considered an olive tree. The eleventh chapter of Romans reveals to us that the olive tree is also a symbol for “Israel,” the Body of Messiah. It stands for all the righteous people of God, both Jew and non-Jew, who have been purified through the once-for-all sacrifice of Calvary. As His people, we now show forth the light of His grace to the whole world. How ironic that the true symbol for those who follow Messiah Jesus - is not the Christmas tree at all! But the menorah!

            In the world we will always have the two trees to choose from. Will we choose to worship at the religious counterfeit, the false tree of anti-Messiah, who is Satan? Or will we identify with the life-giving tree of Messiah, who is Jesus? The Scriptures declare that one day "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Even those who worship "under every green tree" will bow. So I considered it a prophetic act the following day after the menorah had been installed to suddenly see the Christmas tree lying prostrate on the Judge Lewis Quadrangle. During the night the wind, or some vandals, had knocked it over. It reminded me of the story of the Ark of the Covenant after it had been captured by the Philistines. After setting it in the temple of their god Dagon, the Philistines returned the next day and found their stone god lying prostrate on the ground before the tabernacle of the Lord.

            The Christmas tree continued to lay there unceremoniously all day, even attracting the TV news cameras looking for some local news. Finally, late in the afternoon a work crew came by and set it back on its pedestal.

            God certainly has His ways of speaking. And I think I heard His Christmas message this year.

1996